Plots and Quests
Each set of sessions is detailed here, grouped by theme. New World: the Beginning Here we meet the merry characters of our adventuring party: Empyron, the human wizard; Harne, the dwarf fighter; Camulus, the goliath barbarian; Trim, the halfling sorcerer; Alexander, the human cleric/bard; and Errador, the Eladrin Rogue. They set sail on the Peregrine, a stout ship, traveling from Harkin (a port city in Undor) to the New World. Under Captain Wyatt, the crew arrives safely on land within a scant period of time. They immediately begin to set up provisions for the subsequent shiploads of people that will be arriving, and the adventurers set out to discover what lies beyond the new colony's borders. New World: Meeting the Natives The first task of the adventuring group is to scout around the area, seeking supplies (especially water) and to get the lay of the new land. Little did they know that others had already populated the land long ago; the adventurers stumble upon one of these tribes, the Black Ravens, as they journeyed south of the colony. The Black Ravens, initially suspicious of these potential "spies", allow them into the village to consult with their leader, Crowesis, and their lead warrior, Zera. They exchange pleasantries and propose various new ideas to facilitate communication and peace between the colony and the natives; unfortunately, the tribe's rampant necromantic practices prove to be a sticking point. Empyron manages to win Alexander over to the side of True Neutral, however temporarily, and the two groups manage to make peace via exchange of information and the teaching of blacksmithing. Immediately, our adventurers rush back to the colony to give the good news to Captain Wyatt, who doesn't seem impressed. Instead, he informs the group that the colony is rapidly running out of water, and that they as adventurers would be well suited to scouting out a source of water in the native lands. He sends them off into the forest again, and our adventurers grudgingly oblige. After defeating a pack of hungry wolves in the forest, the adventurers stumble upon another native tribe: the Gray Fangs. Led by the mighty druid Agantha, the Gray Fangs are a nature-loving tribe that strives to live in harmony with the land. The group immediately asks to see Agantha (via Alexander's supposedly prophetic vision); upon meeting the adventurers, Agantha is not pleased to learn that they have made a peace contract with sworn enemies--the Black Ravens! Immediately, the peace talks became more difficult, and Empyron the Diplomatic was hard pressed to persuade the tribe to consider their request--to meet the Water Spirit. The tribe sets a high price for taking them to this meeting--100gp, among other possible requests--and the group immediately begins to argue whether or not they should agree to pay the price. They eventually, grudgingly agree, and venture to meet The Water Spirit (patron of the Gray Fangs) with a new ritual scroll in hand. Our adventurers head deeper into the forest and set up at the sacred pool of the Divine Water Spirit. There, Alexander spiritedly performs the summoning ritual from the scroll, and the Water Spirit appears amid the rustling of Chex Mix and Kit Kat wrappers. They request assistance in the form of fresh water for the colony; the Water Spirit, pointedly trying to ignore the impertience of certain party members, offers to help in return for a favor: they must exterminate one of the native tribes. Alexander gets uncomfortable, as does Empyron; the group opts to break off negotiations and return to the colony--empty handed. The Great Rains When the adventuring party returns to the colony, they find another problem, one more pressing than the lack of water: the colony is being flooded by mysterious unending rains! Weary from their previous travels, the party opts to get some sleep and try to recover from their journey. Unfortunately, the flood problem won't wait: the mage from the Peregrine, Roddan, wakes the party and says something about ruins, and magic, and books...ZzzZzzzzz..... In the morning, the group wakes and unwillingly goes to inform Captain Wyatt of what transpired in their journey to the Gray Fangs and their Water Spirit. Before they can head out, Roddan appears to explain what he'd said the night before. Roddan explains that he was part of a scouting party that was doing mapping of the nearby ruins; as a mage, he was tempted by a leftover artifact that he'd found--a book of Lemurian magic lying on an altar. Upon finding a ritual that he thought would bring water, he cast it and involuntarily brought the floods. (He's not a full fledged wizard, nor did he understand the ritual.) Empyron pages through the book trying to get a grasp on the situation, but he can't read the runes. He pockets the tome, and the group ends up heading to the ruins to try and find further answers, or perhaps a translation of the tome Empyron holds. The adventurers encounter a flooded chamber; unwilling to take the armor check penalty, Camulus takes off his armor so that he can swim to the other side of the hallway leading into the dank water. Once on the other side, he finds a welcoming party: a band of vermin that appears to have taken refuge from the flood. Though unarmored, the goliath assists his party in defeating the enemy, and they make it to the other side of the flooded chamber. Mounds of ancient Lemurian tomes lie scattered around a library area (probably where Roddan obtained his), though no one can read enough of the text to figure out if any of the books hold what they need. Our adventurers opt to press forward after defeating the wolfen denizens of the library, and they find a proverbial fork in the road: a path that leads farther into the ancient chamber, and a path that leads to a barred door that is leaking water. After reinforcing the leaking door, they choose to go farther into the chamber, and the group comes upon a sacred clearing. Alexander steps boldly into the room to investigate the altar; the rest of the group joins him once it was determined that the room was empty. A set of double doors awaited the group at the other end of the sacred space; from the other side of the doors, chattering could be heard--in draconic. Alexander tells them that they are friends, and that the group comes in peace...would the newcomers believe him? The Kobold Wars A voice from the other side of the doors tells the group to put down their weapons, so that they could open the doors; after nearly everyone drops their weapons, the strangers open the doors. An armored kobold and guard drake greet them; further kobolds can be seen in the adjacent room. The kobolds don't appear happy to see them; Alexander uses his diplomatic might to try and convince them that the party is only looking for a ritual book--not new territory. He enters the kobolds' room alone (since none of the rest of the party is willing to drop -all- of their weapons, and parleys with their leader while inspecting for a hidden library entrance. The cleric finds a hidden trigger, which seems to annoy the kobolds to no end--and they attack the group! The spear-armed kobolds, however, are no match for the experienced party, and they easily defeat the lizard guards. Their leader, Grakk, submits fearfully as he acknowledges the mighty prowess of the victorious warriors. In exchange for mercifully sparing his life, Grakk agrees to give the adventurers information about himself, his tribe, and the surrounding lands. The group makes their way back to the front of the ruins, clutching a book in an oiled sack; Roddan excitedly asks after the contents of the book. He and Empyron sit down and study the ritual together for a couple of hours; after gleaning what he could from the text, the wizard casts the ritual, and the flooding rains stop. Under cover of the group cheering, Trym suddenly reappears out of the bushes. He seems rather shifty about his absence; the group doesn't press him about it though and instead sends Roddan back to the colony to inform Captain Wyatt that the flooding problem has been solved. Grakk is invited to check the remaining room in the ruins in exchange for a possible cut of any potential treasure (read: the group wants to keep an eye on him), and he suspiciously agrees. Apparently, kobolds don't swim well. They all head for the barred door (the only un-explored room in the ruins) with Grakk riding on Camulus' shoulders. Empyron makes a grand entrance by Magic Missile-ing the blocked door, and Trym joins him with a Chaos Bolt. The door shatters, creating an impromptu water slide (think medieval Hurricane Harbor). Inside, Errador "imports" ritual and alchemical components; the group, satisfied with their haul, heads back to the entrance once more. Trym, Errador, and Camulus go to escort Grakk back to his people, while Harne and Alexander leave for the colony.